hope you are right, but look here (doesn't sound very conciliatory):
nytimes.com
<<US Seeks Serious Microsoft Remedy - Klein
Filed at 6:28 p.m. ET
By Reuters
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Assistant Attorney General Joel Klein, whose department is in the middle of mediation talks to settle the landmark Microsoft Corp. antitrust case, said Wednesday any solution must match the firm's serious anti-competitive acts.
``The findings of fact reveal a serious pattern of anti-competitive conduct,' Klein told a congressional hearing in reference to findings handed down by a federal judge. ``I think that a remedy ought to be commensurate with those practices.'
District Court Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson found last year that Microsoft abused monopoly power over the Windows operating system for personal computers, hurting customers, competitors and other companies.
Klein made clear there was no certainty any settlement would be reached.
``Settlement is better than litigation but the settlement would have to be, of course, appropriate to deal with the concerns that the Court documented in its opinion,' he said.
The most serious possible remedy mentioned by commentators is to break the company into pieces, as Standard Oil was broken up after a 1911 Supreme Court decision finding it had used illegal means to dominate the oil industry. Shareholders benefited richly from the break-up of Standard Oil as its progeny thrived.
At Jackson's suggestion, U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Richard Posner in Chicago is conducting mediation talks, acting in a private capacity.
If the talks succeed, then the trial ends. If the talks fail, then Jackson will hand down his conclusions of law.
Jackson is expected to conclude that Microsoft violated the nation's antitrust law, which would lead to a third phase of the trial to determine the appropriate remedies. The trial would possibly end around October.
Klein declined to comment on the progress of the confidential talks, noting only that his department was ``in the middle' of them.
A Microsoft spokesman also declined to comment on the talks, citing the same reasons as Klein. The spokesman had no comment on Klein's remarks.>>
Morgan |
